Photo: The order for Rev. Nicolas Guerekoyame’s arrest seems to have come straight from the very top. President Michel Djotodia, pictured, seized power in a coup in March.

The already fragile situation for Christians in the Central African Republic (CAR) may be worsening.

On Tuesday (August 6), the leader of the country’s evangelical churches, Rev. Nicolas Guerekoyame, was arrested for comments about the government. He was released a few hours later.

Local media reported that Guerekoyame, who is president of the CAR’s Evangelical Alliance, was questioned about remarks during a sermon in Bangui, the capital, on August 4.

His comments were reportedly considered “excessive and extremist… striking a blow at the dignity of the Head of State and at the Institutions of the Transition”.

However local sources, which remain anonymous for security reasons, said his arrest was linked to the publication of an article in which he inferred that the citizens of the CAR are being treated like slaves.

In the July edition of Le Democrate, the pastor called the CAR “another island of Goree”, an island off the coast of Senegal which was a hub during the slave trade of the 19th Century.

Photo:Rev. Nicolas Guerekoyame suggested in this journal that citizens of the Central African Republic are being treated like slaves.

The pastor added that he blamed the present government for the continued prevalence of theft, rape and murder, despite a recent plea by religious leaders and assurances by the President that security and stability was improving.

Guerekoyame is a member of the National Transitional Council (NTC), an acting parliament set up following the March military coup in which the Seleka group overthrew the regime of Franis Bozize. Local media said Guerekoyame’s immunity as a member of the NTC had not been respected.

Our local source understands the order for the pastor’s arrest came from acting president Michel Djotodia, whose motives in overthrowing the previous government have been questioned before.

In May, World Watch Monitor revealed that Djotodia declared in a letter his desire to turn the Central African Republic into an Islamic republic.

In the letter, Djotodia introduced himself as the defender of the Muslims’ cause in Chad and the Central African Republic, claimed the two countries “have no respect for us” and asked for support from his [Muslim] “brothers”.

A group of senior bishops in response wrote to Djotodia, raising concerns about his past and asking him to speak out against the suffering inflicted by his Seleka guerrillas. “Why shouldn’t you condemn [Seleka’s members]? Until when would you keep silent?” they wrote.

Photo: This village was ransacked by Seleka guerrillas.

In June, Christian and Muslim leaders together condemned the continued violence enacted by Seleka. The Bishop of Bangassou, Juan Jose Aguirre Munos, said that without action, the country was “likely to explode”.